Leaving Cert Diary 2025: Irish Paper 1 and 100% of Maths is done!
It was another big one for the Leaving Cert Class of 2025, as two of the core subjects were tackled on the same day. They took on Maths Paper 2 in the morning and Irish Paper 2 in the afternoon.
This entry into the Leaving Cert Diary, with thanks to our friends at the Irish Second-Level Student's Union (ISSU), Rónán tells us about his Irish exam while Sarah and Kayleigh review Maths Paper 2.
As always, we remind everyone to take a moment to breathe and wind down. We have expert tips on nutrition, sleep and minding yourself here!
Plus, you can get some expert exam analysis and download the papers here. But, let's hear from the students first.
Rónán is a sixth year student and Irish language activist based in Wicklow. Read his blog here...
There was quite a buzz this afternoon as students sat down to tackle the Paper 1 Irish exam, a paper that tests not only understanding, but creativity and expression.
This year's cluastuiscint dealt with a number of current and relevant issues. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and Gael Linn were mentioned, highlighting the continued role of Irish-language organisations. The piece also touched on emigration to Australia and the cultural shifts brought on by globalisation. One of the more topical features was the new bottle and return scheme - showing how environmental awareness is becoming a part of everyday Irish life.
The composition section may have caught some students off guard, particularly those banking on questions on the Irish langauge and the education system. However, the choice of titles was generous. Students could write about people they respected, whether Ireland is a good country to live in, the environment, global politics or major news stories of our generation.
For students with a creative flair there were opportunities to shine. Some might have crafted a short story on the theme of hope or explored the curious nature of life through the idea that "Is ait an mac an saol." I personally enjoyed the chance to step back into my days of Díospóireacht, writing a passionate speech on the motion that the young people of today have a good life – a theme that allowed for both optimism and challenge.
One particularly modern twist was the option to write a radio piece on Artificial Intelligence, a topic that speaks to the future and how language must evolve alongside it.
All in all, it was a generous paper with enough range to suit a wide variety of students - though not without its challenges. "Ní neart go cur le chéile," and today's paper called on each student to bring together their understanding, preparation and personal voice with unity. Now, we look forward to Paper 2, where the rhythm of poetry, the richness of prose, and the legends of our past await. Tomorrow, we may have the possibility to leave the exam halls behind for a moment - to embark on a journey of exploration into the magic of Oisín i dTír na nÓg.
Read Louth student Sarah's blog on Higher Maths here...
Finally no more Trigonometry! Well that was a relief compared to Paper 1 and I believe some students will feel the same. Section A started with the geometry of the line and the circle, with most questions or all involving the logs tables. On the other half with probability there were a few hints to which method to use, like the word arrangements for permutations. The enlargement question stunned me but I gave it a try and hopefully got attempt marks. Apart from that, I was very happy with this section
Section B had lovely written long questions, although I skipped question eight with the net drawing and completed number seven, nine and ten. I thought it was unusual to get students to draw a net instead of a construction or a proof. The questions I choose included Trigonometry, the circle, statistics and probability. Luckily I had learned off the formulas that were not on the log tables like the confidence interval for the mean and the probability independent formula as they came up in this section. Finding the shaded area in question seven took most of my time in the B section as it stumped me.
As maths comes to an end, I feel confident with the work done on both papers. I believe Paper 1 was tough but Paper 2 felt like a redemption for the subject. Now I will just have to wait and see the results!
Kayleigh from Westmeath sat Maths Ordinary Level
When I was in first year, I had maths first class four out of the five days a week and wondered if I'd ever become a morning person, or a maths person. Maths paper two has gently reminded me that I am neither.
I saw many students being quite happy with the higher level paper and many mixed messages about how people did on the ordinary level paper and I have to say I would have much preferred to have been handed the higher level Paper 2 myself. Although there are some questions that definitely looked similar, the net drawing on the higher level paper compared to constructing a centroid on the ordinary level paper was definitely not something I expected to see. Surely you'd expect the questions to be assigned to the opposite papers?
I also must say I think that question will haunt me for the rest of my life as I had one of those horrible moments of clarity afterwards that in my panic I overlooked the simplicity of the question. Whilst I can hope I got the marks and that even though the paper wasn't the most comfortable for me, there is no time to dwell on mistakes made in panic with more exams to go.
Although I think there's a minute to take a step back and realise with the major three subjects all nearly completed that for many students this will be their last time being haunted by an equation or an english or irish essay that have been the foundation subjects of their education for over a decade. There is a slow pace in the subjects as people start to have a day or two off and slowly tick the last few exams off the lists and it is all over as soon as it started. Whilst many may be delighted to say goodbye to that subject that they never liked or weren't the best at and go on to pursue their interests, I find myself in a different boat.
I have never been the best at maths but finishing paper two today I'm almost sad to see it done. I have seen the support of the same wonderful maths teacher, Ms Convey, for six years. It was her many hours of dedicated teaching and extra help and kindness that made Maths a much less terrifying subject for me and helped me understand it. She was even still supportive when I dropped Higher Level Maths. I will also not deny that I am blessed with mathematically talented friends that have explained the same question going around in circles a million times waiting for me to grasp it.
Every student has a subject that they may not be great at. Whether they need it as a course requirement or may never see it again I think it's important to acknowledge that for many students they will hopefully be pleased with their own individual grade and if not, there will always be other ways. I think that's enough dwelling now though and time to get back into the swing of things.
Founded in 2008, the ISSU is the national representative body for school students in the Republic of Ireland. The ISSU is led by students, for students.
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